Sealing bottles.



No. 633,885. Patented Sept. 26,1899.

. T T McNlSH 'snune BOTTLES.

(Application. filed ha. 22, 1398-} Elo Nodal.)

I w I h UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

THOMAS. T. MONISH, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

SEALlN'G BOTTLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,885, dated September 26, 1899.

4 Application filed January 22, 1898. serial No. 667,636. (No model.)

To all wit/0712 it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS T. MoNIsH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and Stateof Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Sealing Bottles, of which improvements the following is a specification.

The invention described herein relates to certain improvements in. sealing bottles, and has for its object a construction-whereby an internal or external closingdevice may be socured in position in such manner as'to require the breaking of an integrally-formed part necessary to the closure of :the bottle before access can be had to the contents of the latter.

In general terms the invention consists in shoulders formed on the bottle and the closing device and a key or locking-piece engaging said shouldersand rendered inaccessible by the closing or sealing of the bottle.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of 'a bottle having my improvemcntapplied thereto. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the upper portion of a bottle, showing the cap in position.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, the plane of section being indicated by the line a; at, Fig. 1. Fig. 4c is a detail view of one form of locking device; a'nd Fig. 5 is a' sectional view on the line y y, Fig. 1. i

In the practice of my invention the upper portion of the neck b of thebottle is preferably made tapering, but may be made cylin-' drical, and is provided at a'suitabledistance from its upper end with a shoulder c to limit the downward-movement of the closing-cap a.

As shown, this cap is made of an internal;

shape and dimension corresponding to the external shape and size of the upper portion of the neck, so as to fit easily, but not with any great amount of friction, over such upper portion of the neck. At a suitable point between the shoulder c and the upper end of the neck the latter is provided withv a groove 6, extending entirely around it, and the cap a is also provided with a groove at, so located that when the cap is placed in position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the grooves in the cap andfneck will lie'in', or approximately in, the same plane.--; Before placing the cap on the bottleythe locking device or key f is placed within the groove in the cap, so as to be carried down into line with the groove in the neck. Thiskey'or locking device is preferably made in the form of an elliptical ring, but may he made of any other shapesuch as epicycloidal, square, triangular, &:c.which will insure the engagement of portions of the ring with the groove on the cap and other portions with the groove in the neck. When the locking-key or looking de' vice. is made of elliptical shape, the major axis thereof is of a length equal, or approxiniatel y equal, to the diameter of the groove in the cap, while its minor axis is of a diame ter not greater than the diameter of the groove in the neck, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

In sealing the bottle the locking device is placed in position in the groove in the cap, "whichis then slipped over the bottle-neck,

the upper end of the latter spreading the ring or lockingdevice in the direction ofits shorter axis, so thatthe ring can be. carried down by;

the cap. As soon as the ring comes into alinement with the groove in the neck it will contract or spring back toward normal position, so that portions of it adjacent to the ends of its shorter-axis will enter the groove in the neck, while the portions adjacent to the ends of its major axis will remain in the groove in the cap, so that the latter will be firmly locked in position on the bottle.

It is characteristic of my improvement that when secured in position thelocking device will be inaccessible, and the cap cannot be removed topermit access to the contents of the bottle without a rupture of the cap or portion of the bottle.

The cap maybe so proportioned that its inner wall or lower end will form a tight joint with; the neck of the bottle, so as to be in and of itself an effective closing device for the the bottle; but it is preferred to employ the cap as a means for holding a corkor other stopper 9 in position in the bottle. In such case the stopper is inserted before placing the cap in position and is forced'to a tight seat in the neck by the movement of the cap to looking position. 7 r

The cap is so constructed that when struck on its upper end it will fracture along lines parallel or substantially parallel with the axis of the cap, thereby avoiding all splintering such as occurs when the caps are formed of glass, which even when grooved to determine the line of rupture will break in other directions. Any material having a parallel or approximately fibrous structure, such as wood, is preferably employed in the manufacture of the caps, although the rupture of the cap in lines parallel with the axis of the cap can be insured by cutting longitudinal grooves t in theinner wall of the cap, as shown in Fig. 5. In the manufacture of the cap care is taken that the fibers of the wood shall be parallel or approximately parallel with the axis of the cap, so that bya sharp blow on the end of the cap (preferably provided with a knob h for that purpose) the cap will split longitudinally into two or more pieces, which will drop away from the neck of the bottle. hen the cap is grooved to facilitate rupture, the grooves should be so located that the pieces will not be greater transversely than asemicircle and will not therefore cling to the neck.

The cap a is made a little longer than the portion of the neck above the shoulder 0, so that the lower end of the cap will have a bearing on such shoulder when in locked position. As the shoulder is formed by thickening the glass of the neck portion, the shoulder Will form a solid abutment or support for the cap when the latter is broken.

It is characteristic of my improvement that it can be applied to bottles without materially changing the shape or construction thereof, it only being necessary to form a groove in the neck of the bottle for the reception of the lockingdevice. It is also characteristic of myimprovement that the bottle is not in any way injured by the removal of the cap and can be used again, a new securing-cap being supplied.

It will be observed that the portions of the grooves in the cap and neck which are operative to hold the former in position are the lower wall of the groove in the cap and the upper wall of the groove in the neck, said walls being in effect shoulders, so that the purposes of my improvement can be attained by the employment of projections on the neck and cap, such projections being so located allel thereto and adapted to fit over the neck and rest upon the shoulder, and provided with an internal project-ion, and a spring locking device engaging the projections on the neck and cap and entirely inclosed by the latter, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a bottle-neck provided with a supporting-shoulder and having projections above the shoulder, a stopper a cap formed of wood having its fibers parallel or approximately parallel with the axis of the cap and adapted to'fit over the neck and resting upon the shoulder thereof and provided with an internal projection, and a spring locking device engaging the projections on the neck and cap, and entirely inclosed by the latter, whereby said cap may be readily broken by a blow delivered on its upper end substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a bottle-neck provided with a supporting-shoulder and having projections above the shoulder, a stopper a wooden cap grooved longitudinally on two or more lines parallel or approximately parallel with its axis and having its fibers also approximately parallel therewith and adapted to fit over the neck and rest on the shoulder of the bottle and provided with an internal projection, and a spring locking device engaging the projections of the neck and cap and entirely inclosed by the latter, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereupto set my hand.

THOMAS T. MONISH.

Vitnesses:

DARWIN S. WoLoo'rr, M. S. MURPHY. 

